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Luke
Myhandsflexwiththe urge to inflict damage. I pace by the floor-to-ceiling windows in my Reilly Tech office in San Diego. The memory of Liv covered in blood and her anguished cries replay in a constant loop in my mind.
“Son of a bitch!” It’s been a month since Liv was attacked. A month since she was violated and forced to kill a man, all because I failed her. And we still have fucking nothing. Every road we go down leads to a steel wall.
“We’re doing the best we can,” Fox says from the monitor on the wall. His voice remains calm as he continues to type on his computer. I sag into the chair. I know he’s doing his best. It didn’t take long to learn how smart he is. He could hack into Nova, my dad’s high tech and supposedly impenetrable security system. A system that was only supposed to answer to me or my cousin, Emilia. But someone else got in, and Liv paid the price.
Then this morning, what little intel we had disappeared from the Maddox system. Another state-of-the-art system my dad created that nobody should have been able to hack into. First Nova, now this. Who the fuck are we dealing with? I’m terrified that we’re in the dark, and I’m taking it out on Fox. I attempt to relax my rage, but it’s a struggle.
“There’s something we haven’t discussed yet that I think warrants a conversation,” Fox says, turning to his camera and scooting closer so his face fills the screen.
Mark looks up from his laptop and I straighten and nod for Fox to continue.
“There’s a possibility that someone within your company is behind this.”
My face hardens. “If you’re suggesting Emilia, you can go straight to hell.”
He shakes his head no, not at all perturbed by my harsh tone. “No, your cousin is clean. But someone may have stolen the codes from either of you without your knowledge.”
Now that is a sobering thought. “You think there’s a mole?”
“We can’t rule out the possibility. We’re stumbling into something huge here. Something someone doesn’t want us to stumble into. Whoever it is, they’re
taking great effort to remain hidden.”
“All the more reason to keep stumbling.”
“Exactly. I already informed Jim.” I nod at that. Fox’s boss is also my dad’s best friend. When Dad died, he checked in on me frequently. I still rely on him for
my security needs.
“When will you have Nova re-programmed?” I ask.
“Another few weeks.”
“What’s the fucking hold up?”
Fox’s lips thin and he stops what he’s doing to stare at me. I’m being unreasonable. But every second that ticks by is a second that Liv isn’t safe.
“I will not answer that,” he says, schooling his features and returning to his task.
Mark frowns at me. “Luke, you need to be with Liv. She needs to return to her routine. She’s feeling neglected.”
He’s right. I’ve let this consume me. I thought we could find the threat and eliminate it so we could return to normal knowing Liv was safe. But now, the task seems impossible.
“How do I protect her from a threat I don’t understand?”
“We just need to tighten it up. Once Fox has Nova ready, we’ll download it into the condo.”
“It’s not fair to her. She didn’t sign up for a prison sentence.”
“She’s earned the right to decide that. And I already know what she’ll say. She’ll do it, because she loves you.”
“Maybe that’s the problem. My dad didn’t have a choice. The threat against my mom came after they were already married with kids. But I have a choice. I could…” Fuck, I can’t even say it out loud. I’m a selfish coward.
Fox stops typing and turns to look at me. Mark’s face turns to stone.
“Please tell me you’re not suggesting what I think you are,” Mark growls.
